Ward 4 Middle Grades Update

In our last post on Coolidge and a possible Ward 4 North Middle School, we shared information about a middle grades option as a part of Coolidge High School’s upcoming building modernization. Over the past year we’ve gathered input from hundreds of stakeholders excited about the possible opening of middle grades alongside Coolidge. With nearly $160 million in Coolidge’s modernization budget, it’s an exciting time for an investment in Ward 4 schools.

Last night (12/19), DCPS Chancellor John Davis made the official announcement to the Coolidge Community Working Group that DCPS is opening these middle grades in School Year 2019-2020.

Coolidge Working Group members weigh in on Chancellor Davis’ announcement of new middle grades as part of Coolidge’s modernization and possible application models at Coolidge (December 19, 2016 – Coolidge HS)

A new middle school is exciting to us at DCPS and for many of our parents, staff, and community members. We still have a lot of work to do. We’ll be gathering more input around grade configuration (6 to 12 model vs. individual middle and high school), possible application-based models for Coolidge, and the impact on the neighborhood education campuses at Brightwood, LaSalle-Backus, Whittier, and Takoma. We’ll be posting more about that process soon, so stay tuned and please reach out to us at DCPS.Planning@dc.gov with any questions or comments.

The announcement letter from DCPS Chief Operating Officer, Carla Watson is below in English, Spanish, French, and Amharic.

Eliot-Hine HS Fair & Pathway to an IB Diploma

Eliot-Hine is one of the two DCPS International Baccalaureate Middle Years Programme (MYP) schools. In the fall of 2015, the IB Organization authorized Eliot-Hine as an official IB MYP. Remaining committed to a vision of educational excellence, Eliot-Hine’s Middle Years Programme offers a curriculum for students in grades six through eight committed to promoting independent learning, critical thinking, and inquisitiveness. Their feeder high school, Eastern High School, is also an IB World School so students can continue their pathway to an IB Diploma.

Led and organized by Eliot-Hine, DCPS high schools gathered to showcase their programs at the December 1st high school fair. Prepared with questions to ask schools, students and families learned more about how to apply to schools via the My School DC lottery, extracurriculars, and all their high school options.

There will also be an Eliot-Hine MS table at EdFest on Saturday, December 10th. Stop by to learn more about the school, hear from the principal and current students/parents, and grab an Eliot-Hine lanyard!

• EdFEST: Saturday, December 10, 2016
• 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
• DC Armory (2001 East Capitol St SE)
• Admission and parking are FREE
• *Interpretation in sign language, Spanish, Amharic, Mandarin, Vietnamese, and French available throughout the day.
• Transportation
  Metro Station: Stadium–Armory (Orange/Blue/Silver lines)
  Metro Bus: B2, D6, E32, 96, 97
  Free onsite parking: Lot #3
• NEW: Get to and from EdFEST using Lyft! Enter the code “EDFEST” in the payment section before you request your ride. 

Photos from the HS Fair below:

Students learning more about the My School DC lottery opening on December 12th, 2016

8th graders learning about Dunbar High School’s 9th grade Leadership Academy

Proactive Eliot-Hine students come prepared with questions to ask HS to learn which program may be best for them!

Eastern HS Principal, Sah Brown, speaking to 8th graders on how the IB MYP prepares them for an IB Dimploma.

Families learning Cardozo HS has a TransSTEM Academy, featuring engineering and research real-world experiences for students.

Eliot-Hine Middle School

We are excited to add Eliot-Hine Middle School, located in Ward 6, to our DCPS Planning Blog! Come along with us as we map out the upcoming modernization for Eliot-Hine and provide updates from the School Improvement Team meetings.We will also feature Eliot-Hine events and school staff, showcase the IB Middle Years Programme, and share more about their feeder schools (Maury ES, Miner ES, Payne ES, and School-Within-School@Goding). Additionally, this letter was sent to the Eliot-Hine feeder schools and staff to provide the community with both programmatic and modernization updates.

The next Eliot-Hine Open House is Tuesday, December 13th at 9:30 AM. We hope you will join us as we hear from Principal Vargas, current students, and visit classes in action. The full calendar of events includes more opportunities for you to visit Eliot-Hine and below are all the December events.

December 2016 Events: 

• HS Fair: December 1st at 10:30 AM
• Open House: December 13th at 9:30 AM
• PTO Meeting: December 14th at 6 PM
• Winter Showcase: December 15th at 6 PM

December Basketball Schedule: 

• December 6th- Eliot-Hine vs. Stuart Hobson (Home game): 4:45 girls, 6:00 PM boys
• December 8th- Eliot-Hine vs. Francis Stevens (Away game): 4:45 boys
• December 13th- Eliot-Hine vs. Kramer (Away game): 4:45 girls, 6:00 PM boys
• December 15th- Eliot-Hine vs. Oyster Adams (Away game): 4:45 girls